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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281245">Tiny Little Flower</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/heart_full_of_magic/pseuds/heart_full_of_magic'>heart_full_of_magic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aunt and Niece, Babysitting, Bonding, Flower Crowns, Fluff, Gen, Introspection, Never grow up, Sweetness, Toddler, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tumblr request, i cried, my loves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:47:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281245</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/heart_full_of_magic/pseuds/heart_full_of_magic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>a Tumblr request: "I need a fic of Terra just bonding with Farah or making her flower clowns.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aunt &amp; Niece, Farah Dowling &amp; Terra Harvey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>141</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tiny Little Flower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>- if you'd like to look at the whole request, it's on my tumblr @mindfairies<br/>- i love children. i hc Farah does not. this was a little hard to write introspection for, but i hope i've done it jutice<br/>- not beta'd, 12am writing, all mistakes are mine<br/>- i need to get better at summaries, jeez<br/>- written while listening to “Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift on repeat. i cried. a lot.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Farah Dowling did not like children.</p><p>No matter how much her best friends tried to argue that she was wonderful with them, no matter how many of her friend’s younger siblings she met, no matter how many afternoons she’d spent watching a few children run around the grounds of Alfea-- she had put her foot down and stated that <i>no</i>, she did not like children. They were too… awkward, too loud, too moody, and their never ending tears tested her patience more than she’d like. Besides, she could hardly teach a child about the intricacies of wielding magic and controlling their emotions. So she was no use to them, either.</p><p>But everything be damned, Farah could never bring herself to outright say no. Which is exactly how she ended up sitting on her office couch, papers floating all around her and a little girl toddling near her on unsteady legs.</p><p>Terra Harvey was the absolute opposite of what she would expect Ben’s daughter to be. And yet, they were both extremely similar. Where the bald man was gentle and calm, Terra was fierce and unafraid of stirring the pot, so to speak. But they were both introverts, and preferred the quiet company of their plants to the company of people. The little girl was, in Farah’s opinion, the most perfect blend of Ben and Rose. It warmed her heart to see her two friends so perfectly represented within a beautiful little girl.</p><p>But that didn’t change the fact that Terra was a child. And not her daughter. And yet, she was the one that got stuck with babysitting duty.</p><p>Ben and Saul both knew how much she despised younger children, and she was aware that they wouldn't have left Terra with her if there was no other option. Her only comfort was that this babysitting job would only last a few hours (and Ben said he would make it up to her with a beautiful new orchid). And it wasn’t like she’d never spent time with Terra before, although this would be one of the first times she’d been completely alone with her.</p><p>As much as she loved her students, little kids just weren’t interesting to her, and Farah could never bring herself to be around them for long. She couldn’t tell them to control their emotions, because they were too young to truly understand the concept of emotions ruling over magic. She couldn’t read interesting books to them (and she would never stoop so low as to read a fairytale to children). She obviously couldn’t discuss teaching methods with them, or battle tactics, or class materials. So what the hell was she even supposed to do with a child?</p><p>As it turns out, Terra wasn’t the handful she had expected. Since Ben had dropped her off earlier that day, the little girl had been content to sit on her couch and play with a few potted plants that Farah had placed in her office to give it a more “homely” feel. The Headmistress, of course, had the usual piles of transcripts to look at and papers to grade. But she didn’t want to leave the girl entirely on her own. So she just picked up her papers and moved over to the couch, using her magic to levitate papers around her when she needed it. Terra sometimes stood up on the couch, her small little legs shakily balancing her as she walked around the cushion before settling down to play with the plants again. A comfortable silence settled between the two, like a mutual understanding.</p><p>After some time, Farah noticed that the little girl had been weaving something with her hands. She was aware that Terra had shown signs of her magic early on (much to Ben’s dismay) and had a surprising amount of control for her age. But she was incredibly surprised when she looked closer to see that Terra was growing small vines and tiny little flowers out of the dirt that her office plants contained. When the vines were long enough, she was cutting them with her magic and twisting them into what was beginning to look like a crown. She was also embedding the little flowers in the crown, creating a uniquely beautiful design. Farah raised an eyebrow, impressed. But she turned her attention back to her paperwork.</p><p>She could feel the girl standing up and jumped a little when she felt tiny hands on her shoulders, but realized that Terra was only doing that to help steady herself. So she returned to reading and signing, now barely feeling Terra playing with the strands of her hair and determinedly ignoring the girl when she let out a little pouting noise. But the mind fairy couldn’t ignore it when she started to sniffle.</p><p>Farah immediately looked up. “What is it, Terra? What’s wrong?” She instinctively scanned the girl for injuries, and looked to the door to see if any enemies had begun to approach. But she just sniffled, tears in her wide eyes, and held up the crown she had made. </p><p>“My crown doesn’t fit.” She said, her voice wobbly. Farah blinked in confusion for a moment before reaching a hand to touch her hair. The delicate bun she had made that morning, with her signature strands framing her face, was all messy and had slightly shifted. So <i>those</i> were the light touches and tugs she’d felt. </p><p>Was Terra trying to put a flower crown on her?</p><p>“Well… My hair is in a bun, Terra. I don’t think you’ll be able to put the crown on properly.” She tried to explain in a gentle tone. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say, since the earth fairy’s eyes welled up with tears and her sniffling got… wetter. If that was even possible. Farah almost grimaced, not wanting the girl to cry. </p><p>She was about to say something when Terra suddenly jumped up (tears apparently forgotten) and reached for her hair, grabbing onto a pin with surprising gentleness and pulling it from her head. A few of Farah’s blonde-brown curls fell down her shoulders, and the little girl’s eyes almost brightened.</p><p>“Hair down?” Terra asked, twisting her little fingers together, not wanting to pull another pin out without permission. Farah hesitated before sighing heavily, setting down the paper she had just been looking at and reaching up to her hair. She only let her hair down at night, and it would honestly be a welcome relief to take away the pressure on her head (that had so often caused her a headache). The buns that she wore in her hair allowed her to keep a refined, composed, and collected image of a perfect Headmistress. But here in her office, with Terra by her side, she figured she could let her hair down for once.</p><p>At Farah’s nod, Terra excitedly reached out to help the older woman pull the pins out of her hair. Eventually, her honey-colored locks came completely loose, falling in waves past her shoulders. Terra’s eyes almost comically widened in awe, and she squealed excitedly before reaching over for her flower crown. Farah stifled a laugh and steadied the little girl as she stood on the older woman’s legs to carefully place the crown on her head. She leaned back for a moment to admire her work.</p><p>“There. Now you’re the queen!” She giggled, fixing the flowers a little before plopping herself down on Farah’s lap. Her arms quickly went around the older woman as much as they could, and she looked up at her in a little bit of a sleepy reverie. It was time for a nap, apparently. Farah found herself looking right back at her, a soft and warm feeling growing inside her chest as she held Terra.</p><p>Maybe there was a beauty in the simplicity of being a child. The little girl in her arms had never known the adrenaline of battle, the fear of seeing someone she loved injured and bleeding out on the field, and she had never been taken under a mentor’s wing just to have the world ripped out from underneath her. And that was <i>good</i>. Her life had been a beautiful cocoon of familial love and happiness, and it had turned her into a wonderful and kindhearted child. It made her wonder.</p><p>Farah had been forced to grow up, to become a soldier made to follow orders and always be fit for duty. She would never, <i>ever</i> force that on her family or her students. She would do the best of her ability to assure that they emerged from Alfea unharmed, safe, and happy. Her attention moved back to the earth fairy who shifted in her arms.</p><p>“Thank you, Auntie Farah.” Terra mumbled, closing her eyes and snuggling into her chest. Her little hand was still gently wrapped around one of the older woman’s curls. “Love you.” </p><p>Farah’s eyes widened slightly for a moment, looking down at the little girl. She felt involuntary tears well up in her eyes, and she squeezed her just a little tighter before reaching up to readjust her flower crown. When the lights dimmed and the sun went down, she would return to being the Headmistress. She would return to her paperwork, to the endless mountain of daily work, to the aloof and slightly detached figurehead she had made herself to be.</p><p>But for now, cuddling her little niece, she was content with just being Auntie Farah.</p>
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